Towar: Boys & Girls Club teen director, youth honored

Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Oakland County Board of Trustees Chairwoman Ilene Lanfear, far right, congratulates Liza Billotti on being named Professional of the Year and Jesse Friedman for his award as Youth of the Year by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Michigan/Ohio Area Council. (Submitted photo)

From the time she was a young person herself, Liza Billotti knew she wanted to make working with young people her career.

“When my husband and I fell in love with Royal Oak and moved here in 2009, we were unaware there was a Boys & Girls Club,” Billotti said. “So when a friend told me about their sign that said ‘Part time teen director position available,’ I jumped right on it.”

At the time, Billotti, who earned a degree in parks, recreation and tourism resources, with an emphasis on child psychology, from Michigan State University, was managing an indoor water park in Sterling Heights. Starting at age 15 and throughout college, she had worked with at-risk youth in Grand Rapids, and for the city’s summer aquatics program.

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She did an internship at the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing during her senior year at MSU.

“That was my first experience with the Boys & Girls Club movement,” she said, “It gave me the opportunity to know that type of setting would be ideal and extremely rewarding as a profession.”

Billotti progressed to full-time director of teen services, helping supervise the Royal Oak and Ferndale locations, assisting with development and overseeing teen leadership programs. In 2011, she was named Keystone Club Advisor of the Year by Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

“From the beginning, I knew the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Oakland County was something great,” Billotti said.

“Liza came in and exuded energy and competence,” said Don Reid, who was the club’s associate director for 24 years before his retirement. “You seldom see somebody that versatile, pleasant and successful.”

When the club expanded to locations in Southfield and Washington Township in 2011, she was promoted to senior vice-president of operations and now oversees staffing, training and development for all four locations.

At the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Michigan/Ohio Area Council conference in late April, Billotti received the 2013 Professional of the Year award.

“The club has impacted my life as much as it impacts the lives of the young people we serve,” Billotti said. “In the end, the kids are my main focus and inspiration.”

“The most rewarding part of the conference was that Jesse was sitting next to me, so being able to share my award with him and the next day see him honored as Michigan Youth of the Year was emotional and amazing at the same time.”

Billotti was referring to Jesse Friedman, who was named the Boys & Girls Club of South Oakland County Youth of the Year this January, and went on to be chosen Michigan Youth of the Year at the conference.

Jesse won in part by reciting an essay he had written. It began, “For the past 9 years, I have had the privilege to be supported, taught and inspired by remarkable people in a remarkable place, the Boys and Girls Club of South Oakland County. This place has been a constant. My happiest times I can remember have been at the club, and luckily, the club was there so I could make it through the bad times in my life.”

“I wouldn’t allow my unstable home life to interfere with my school work, activities or friends,” said the young man, who grew up facing challenges caused by addictions within his family.

“I attended my Boys and Girls Club, where I had best friends and a welcoming environment,” he wrote. “The Boys and Girls Club served and still serves as a second home for me, and from 3:30 to 7:30, Monday through Friday, that emptiness I felt in my heart was replaced with something I couldn’t name as a 10 year old, but looking back I think it might have been peace.”

Jesse, who is president of the Keystone Club and himself now a Boys & Girls Club staff member, will attend the University of Michigan in the fall. But, he says, “I have grown up a club kid, and I will always be a club kid.”

“Jesse and Liza are two outstanding leaders,” said Boys & Girls Clubs Executive Director Brett Tillander. “Jesse is ready to take on the world, having triumphed over significant hurdles in life, and Liza is dedicated to changing the lives of our club members, as the club is doing every day.”

The art of printmaking

Royal Oak artist Susan Massucci will return for another exciting presentation on the art of printmaking to the South Oakland Art Association at 7 p.m. Monday.

Massucci will give a brief history of printmaking, then focus on printmakers who inspire her work. She will conclude with a demonstration of color printmaking. Wood blocks and zinc intaglio plates will be on display, and her award-winning prints will be available for purchase.

All artists and art lovers are welcome to attend this free meeting at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 814 N. Campbell Road in Royal Oak. Refreshments will be served. Call 248-396-9377 for more information.

Spaghetti dinner supports Royal Oak police

Show your support for the Royal Oak Police Honor Guard while enjoying a delicious spaghetti dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Royal Oak Farmers Market, 316 E. 11 Mile Road.

The group’s annual event raises money to send Honor Guard officers to Washington D.C. for National Police Week for a ceremony that allows them to show respect for fallen officers killed in the line of duty.

Dinner tickets will be sold at the door and are just $10 dollars for adults and $5 for kids from ages 5 to 12 years old. Kids under age 5 are admitted free.

Container gardening talk in Ferndale

Learn about container gardening when Judy Cornellier from Telly’s Greenhouse talks to the Ferndale Garden Club on Thursday, May 9. Guests are welcome to the 7 p.m. meeting at the Gerry Kulick Community Center, 1201 Livernois Ave. in Ferndale. There is no charge to attend. Call 248-541-6427 for more information.

Royal Oak Symphony Orchestra season finale

The Royal Oak Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Christopher Mark, will perform their final concert of the season at 8 p.m. Friday, May 10, at Royal Oak Middle School’s Dondero Auditorium, 709 N. Washington Ave.

The program will include Joseph Haydn’s “The Creation” and “Oboe Concerto in C major;” the “Dances with Wolves Concert Suite” by John Barry; and “Star Trek Through the Years,” arranged by Calvin Custer.

Tickets are available at the door for $10 for adults, $7 for seniors age 60 and over and college students. Ages 18 and under are admitted free.

Historical museum celebrates Royal Oak firefighters

The Royal Oak Historical Society will celebrate the Royal Oak Fire Department’s century of service with an open house from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at the Royal Oak Historical Museum. Active duty and retired firefighters will be there to share stories and information. Fire trucks, fire apparatus and apparel will be shown, along with historical displays.

Bring the kids for three-legged races, games like peanuts in a spoon, and shooting water from a fire hose to put out a small playhouse fire.

There’ll be hot dogs and beverages for a buck each, and food donated by Royal Oak Restaurant Association members for sale, too. Take home a free booklet with stories and history of the Royal Oak Fire Department from 1913 to present day.

Admission to the open house is free, but donations to support the museum are welcomed and appreciated. The museum is at 1411 W. Webster Road in the historic Northwood Fire Station.

Have news about your club, organization or interesting individuals in Southeast Oakland County you would like to share with the community? Email Jeanne Towar at jeanne.towar@gmail.com or call 248-890-8370.